Water well pressure issue
#1
02-16-21, 10:26 AM
Water well pressure issue
Over the past few months I have been having an issue with my water well and the pressure. I'm having to go out and drain my holding tank and then refill it so that I can have pressure. I'll notice that out of the blue the pressure indicator is showing zero for pressure but the tank is completely filled with water. Once I do this then I have good pressure for a few more weeks and then it's all over doing it again. A little over a year ago we replaced the leather tubing that was on the pipe that goes in the ground so I'm pretty sure that's not the culprit. Any idea where I could start trying to figure out what's going on? I don't hear any air leaking and I'm just baffled by what's going on.
#2
02-16-21, 12:24 PM
Group Moderator
You need a new pressure tank. It sounds like the bladder inside yours has ruptured and it gets water logged.
The pressure tank does not pump water nor does it generate water pressure. It is merely an accumulator so the pump doesn't cycle on and off so frequently. Water pressure is controlled by the pressure switch and the pressure is actually generated by the pump.
The pressure tank does not pump water nor does it generate water pressure. It is merely an accumulator so the pump doesn't cycle on and off so frequently. Water pressure is controlled by the pressure switch and the pressure is actually generated by the pump.
#3
02-16-21, 02:38 PM
All I have is a galvanized holding tank I don't have anything else. This was all installed roughly 25 years ago.
#4
02-16-21, 04:40 PM
Group Moderator
Your pressure tank is probably an old bladderless style. Just a empty tank. Because the air and water are not separated the air gets absorbed into the water over time and the tank becomes waterlogged. A modern tank has a rubber bladder that separates the two and can go many, many years without having to do anything.
If you have a well pump you also have a pressure switch somewhere. It's what turns your pump on and off.
If you have a well pump you also have a pressure switch somewhere. It's what turns your pump on and off.
#5
02-16-21, 11:54 PM
Member
we replaced the leather tubing that was on the pipe that goes in the ground so I'm pretty sure that's not the culprit
A new pressure tank is cheap and will greatly improve your systems performance! Easy to replace!
#7
02-17-21, 03:56 PM
The switch was replaced about two years ago or so maybe a little after that. It's the persistent nature of this thing where it's losing that Prime every couple of months that has me baffled about what is really happening here. I've asked around and no one who has a well that I know has experienced something like this.
Marq1 I'm referring to the leather cups that go on the foot valve underground.
Marq1 I'm referring to the leather cups that go on the foot valve underground.
#8
02-18-21, 04:56 AM
Group Moderator
#9
02-18-21, 05:57 AM
Member
You need a new pressure tank or you need to add air to yours very frequently. When you empty it, air gets into it and that is why it keeps working for a while. As the trapped air dissolves into your water it eventually goes back to acting like yours is. A new tank with a bladder will solve the problem.
If you want to understand the true nature of what is going on then it works like this. When your tank is operational it will have both water AND air inside it. The air is at the top. As your pump adds more water to the tank, that air gets compressed. Whatever your cut off pressure is for the pump, the air will be exerting the exact same pressure after the pump is off. When you open a tap in your house, THE AIR in the tank pushes the water out of the tank to your tap, for use. When the water leaves the tank the volume for whatever air you have in the tank increases and that decreases the pressure of the air pushing on the water. Eventually the pressure drops to the point your pump turns on and this cycle of the water refilling in the tank, compressing the air to a higher pressure, repeats.
That is how it works. Once you lose the air in the tank, you lose the pressure on your water. You really should get a new pressure tank.
If you want to understand the true nature of what is going on then it works like this. When your tank is operational it will have both water AND air inside it. The air is at the top. As your pump adds more water to the tank, that air gets compressed. Whatever your cut off pressure is for the pump, the air will be exerting the exact same pressure after the pump is off. When you open a tap in your house, THE AIR in the tank pushes the water out of the tank to your tap, for use. When the water leaves the tank the volume for whatever air you have in the tank increases and that decreases the pressure of the air pushing on the water. Eventually the pressure drops to the point your pump turns on and this cycle of the water refilling in the tank, compressing the air to a higher pressure, repeats.
That is how it works. Once you lose the air in the tank, you lose the pressure on your water. You really should get a new pressure tank.
#11
02-18-21, 07:47 PM
If it is only recently that the pressure tank lost nearly all of its air quickly then I would suspect a slow air leak in the pressure tank that may or may not let water leak out after all the air was gone.
In most cases with the pressure tank preset pressure adjusted properly the system reaches maximum pressure and the pump shuts off when enough water has entered the pressure tank to occupy about 1/3 to 1/2 of the space inside. The pump restarts when almost all of the water has been pushed out of the pressure tank.
In most cases with the pressure tank preset pressure adjusted properly the system reaches maximum pressure and the pump shuts off when enough water has entered the pressure tank to occupy about 1/3 to 1/2 of the space inside. The pump restarts when almost all of the water has been pushed out of the pressure tank.
#12
02-19-21, 07:35 AM
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I'll notice that out of the blue the pressure indicator is showing zero for pressure
#13
02-19-21, 10:36 AM
Group Moderator
Air pressure inside your pressure tank and the water pressure in your system are two totally different things. The pressure switch that turns your pump on and off operates off of the water pressure. The pressure you see on your pressure tank is the air pressure inside it.
#15
02-19-21, 12:19 PM
Group Moderator
A gauge somewhere near the top of a pressure tank is almost always for the air pressure in the tank. The water pressure gauge is located somewhere on a water line or at the pump.
#16
02-20-21, 05:42 AM
Gauges sometimes go bad.. Reliability would be greatly enhanced if you have two gauges (not necessarily near each other) in the plumbing system not on the pressure tank. (If the gauges read differently then that tells you right off that you need to think twice, possibly attending to a problem. A pair of gauges in each expanse or section of plumbing separated by a check valve may be a good idea.)
With pressure above the pressure tank preset PSI (or at all times with a non-bladder tank) a gauge on the tank and a gauge elsewhere will (should) read almost the same when there is no heavy water usage.
With pressure above the pressure tank preset PSI (or at all times with a non-bladder tank) a gauge on the tank and a gauge elsewhere will (should) read almost the same when there is no heavy water usage.
